Post-operative wearable apparel

ABSTRACT

A post-operative wearable apparel adapted to accommodate a plurality of surgical drains so as to give a user greater mobility and a sense of dignity is provided. The post-operative wearable apparel provides an upper body garment having interior and exterior sides dimensioned and adapted for a human wearer. A front side of the upper body garment has separable robe portions for accessing the interior side, wherein a plurality of pockets are conveniently disposed and adapted to retain a portion of each post-operative surgical drain, including their storage bags.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/015,859, filed 23 Jun. 2014, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to post-operative wearable apparel and, more particularly, to post-operative wearable apparel adapted to accommodate a plurality of surgical drains so as to give a user greater mobility and a sense of dignity.

A surgical drain is a tube used to remove pus, blood or other fluids from a wound/surgical site. Though prone to become occluded or clogged, they are commonly inserted after surgery to drain body fluid, and are usually attached at or near the wound/surgical site by stitching or the like. Accurate recording of the volume of drainage as well as the contents is vital to ensure proper healing and monitoring for excessive bleeding, and so the surgical drain may include a tube fluidly connected to a drainage container, such as a storage bag, bottle or the like. Depending on the amount of drainage, a patient may have the drain in place one day to weeks.

However, the use of drains for surgical procedures may hinder recovery by acting as an ‘anchor,’ limiting the mobility of the patient post surgery. Currently, there are only makeshift methods to enabling mobility when having at least one surgical drain; for example, by pinning the surgical drains to everyday articles of clothing of the patient. The inherent instability of this makeshift method of accommodating the surgical drains, though, may cause the drains to become clogged and/or still somewhat limit the movement of the patient, as well as other disadvantages.

As can be seen, there is a need for post-operative wearable apparel adapted to accommodate a plurality of surgical drains so as to give a user greater mobility and a sense of dignity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, post-operative wearable apparel includes: an upper body garment having an interior side and an exterior side adapted for a human wearer; two opposing arm-receiving openings formed within the upper body garment so as to communicate the interior side to the exterior side; a front side defined by two robe portions, wherein the two robe portions are moveable from a closed position to an open position for accessing the interior side; and a plurality of pockets disposed along the interior side, wherein each pocket forms a pocket opening dimensioned and adapted to receive a portion of a surgical drain.

In another aspect of the present invention, post-operative wearable apparel includes: an upper body garment having an interior side and an exterior side adapted for a human wearer; two opposing arm-receiving openings formed within the upper body garment so as to communicate the interior side to the exterior side; a front side defined by two robe portions, wherein the two robe portions are moveable from a closed position to an open position for accessing the interior side; a plurality of pockets disposed along the interior side, wherein each pocket forms a pocket opening dimensioned and adapted to receive a portion of a surgical drain, wherein each pocket opening is disposed near a waist level of the human wearer, wherein each pocket opening is disposed along a right-hand portion or a left-hand portion of the interior side; a pocket fastener disposed along a periphery of each pocket opening; and a closure element adapted to secure the two robe portions about a waist of the human wearer.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in use;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in a closed position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in an opened position;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, demonstrating an operative configuration; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides post-operative wearable apparel adapted to accommodate a plurality of surgical drains so as to give a user greater mobility and a sense of dignity. The post-operative wearable apparel provides an upper body garment having interior and exterior sides dimensioned and adapted for a human wearer. A front side of the upper body garment has separable robe portions for accessing the interior side, wherein a plurality of pockets are conveniently disposed and adapted to retain a portion of each post-operative surgical drain, including their storage bags.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6, the present invention may include post-operative wearable apparel 10 generally including an upper body garment 12 made of durable and reliable construction and dimensioned and adapted for a human wearer. The upper body garment 12 may have an interior side and an exterior side, and may form arm-receiving openings 30 that communicate between the two sides. The upper body garment 12 may form a front side 32 having two separable robe portions positionable in a closed position and an opened position for accessing the inner side of the upper body garment 12, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 1, respectively. A closure component 14 may be provided to secure the closed position around the waist of a human wearer. The upper body garment 12 may extend to below the waist level of the human wearer.

The interior side may form a plurality of pockets 16, 18, 20, 22, each dimensioned and adapted to receive a portion of a surgical drain 24 and/or its storage bag 26. Each pocket 16, 18, 20, 22 may be disposed near or below the waist level of the human wearer, providing ease of access to each pocket as well as preventing clogging of the surgical drain 24 through tangling and/or insufficient extension thereof. In certain embodiments, the plurality of pockets 16, 18, 20, 22 may be disposed so that each pocket opening 40 is either along a right hand portion or a left hand portion of the along the interior side, wherein each hand portion is near where each hand of the human wearer would generally hang with their arms at their side when wearing the upper body garment 12.

Along a portion of a periphery of each pocket opening 40 a pocket fastener 42 may be provided for removably securing each pocket opening closed, preventing the storage bags 26 from dislodging. The pocket fastener 42 may be standard push-button snaps, Velcro-type fasteners, adhesive substances, combinations thereof, and the like, so long as the pocket fasteners 42 function in accordance with the present invention as described herein.

A method of using the present invention may include the following. The post-operative wearable apparel 10 disclosed above may be provided. A user 28 wears the upper body garment 12 after at least one surgical drain 24 has been attached. A portion of each surgical drain 24 may be placed into the pocket that is most conveniently disposed. For example, if the patient is right-handed, then they may place the storage bag 26 into the pocket disposed along the right-hand portion (16 or 18, as illustrated in FIG. 4).

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A post-operative wearable apparel, comprising: an upper body garment having an interior side and an exterior side adapted for a human wearer; two opposing arm-receiving openings formed within the upper body garment so as to communicate the interior side to the exterior side; a front side defined by two robe portions, wherein the two robe portions are moveable from a closed position to an open position for accessing the interior side; and a plurality of pockets disposed along the interior side, wherein each pocket forms a pocket opening dimensioned and adapted to receive a portion of a surgical drain.
 2. The post-operative wearable apparel of claim 1, wherein each pocket opening is disposed near a waist level of the human wearer.
 3. The post-operative wearable apparel of claim 1, wherein each pocket opening is disposed along a right-hand portion or a left-hand portion of the interior side.
 4. The post-operative wearable apparel 1, further comprising a closure element adapted to secure the two robe portions about a waist of the human wearer.
 5. The post-operative wearable apparel 1, further comprising a pocket fastener disposed along a periphery of each pocket opening.
 6. A post-operative wearable apparel, comprising: an upper body garment having an interior side and an exterior side adapted for a human wearer; two opposing arm-receiving openings formed within the upper body garment so as to communicate the interior side to the exterior side; a front side defined by two robe portions, wherein the two robe portions are moveable from a closed position to an open position for accessing the interior side; a plurality of pockets disposed along the interior side, wherein each pocket forms a pocket opening dimensioned and adapted to receive a portion of a surgical drain, wherein each pocket opening is disposed near a waist level of the human wearer, wherein each pocket opening is disposed along a right-hand portion or a left-hand portion of the interior side; a pocket fastener disposed along a periphery of each pocket opening; and a closure element adapted to secure the two robe portions about a waist of the human wearer. 